Written Answers Wednesday 2 February 2005

Scottish Executive

Alcohol Misuse

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-13299 by Rhona Brankin on 19 January 2005, how alcohol detoxification and rehabilitation programmes are audited to determine funding allocations at both local and national levels on the basis of outcomes.

Rhona Brankin: Local alcohol action teams provide details of services within their respective areas within a Corporate Action Plan submitted annually to the Executive. There is currently no national system in place to audit alcohol services in Scotland.

  National funding for alcohol services in 2004-05 was 70%, based on the Arbuthnott formula, and 30% distributed equally between the 15 boards. Local funding decisions are the responsibility of Alcohol and Drug Action Teams and their partners within NHS boards.

  An announcement on future funding and the proposed methodology for allocation will be made shortly.

Blind and Partially Sighted People

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of blind women is over the age of 70 and what percentage of these received contact from social work services at least once a week, broken down by local authority area in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002, (e) 2003 and (f) 2004.

Rhona Brankin: Information is not collected on the number of blind women aged over 70. The table shows the proportion of registered blind women who are over the age of 65 for each local authority.

  No information is held centrally on what percentage of these women receive contact from social work services at least once a week.

  Table 1: Registered Blind Women, Aged 65 and Over, as a Percentage of All Registered Blind Women

  

Local Authority
1999
(%)
2000
(%)
2001
(%)
2002
(%)
2003
(%)
2004
(%)


Aberdeen City
83.4
83.5
84.1
84.3
82.6
81.2


Aberdeenshire
85.9
85.0
85.1
82.2
83.8
82.2


Angus
82.9
82.6
81.4
83.4
83.6
83.5


Argyll and Bute
91.9
89.1
81.8
89.9
88.4
89.1


Clackmannanshire
67.3
70.9
82.7
86.4
87.7
88.6


Dumfries and Galloway
80.4
82.1
85.5
84.8
85.0
84.2


Dundee City
79.9
79.7
80.6
82.5
81.8
81.9


East Ayrshire
88.5
84.7
89.0
84.9
79.3
85.9


East Dunbartonshire
86.3
85.7
86.8
82.7
82.0
81.7


East Lothian
81.7
78.9
79.6
79.4
81.3
79.9


East Renfrewshire
89.0
86.9
88.7
88.2
88.2
89.0


Edinburgh city
84.9
83.7
83.5
82.9
83.8
81.4


Eilean Siar
83.7
83.0
81.8
85.7
85.9
81.0


Falkirk
88.3
91.6
86.0
85.7
83.0
81.5


Fife
84.0
81.9
82.3
81.9
83.1
81.2


Glasgow City
90.5
90.3
90.5
90.0
90.1
89.8


Highland
84.0
84.6
85.1
84.5
84.1
81.8


Inverclyde
89.4
85.7
86.2
88.1
88.8
88.6


Midlothian
82.0
82.2
84.6
82.9
83.9
83.6


Moray
87.2
87.5
88.8
89.8
89.0
88.9


North Ayrshire
85.7
85.5
85.6
86.4
86.3
87.1


North Lanarkshire
86.1
81.6
85.8
85.0
84.6
84.8


Orkney Islands
85.7
73.9
75.9
80.6
81.3
87.2


Perth and Kinross
87.2
88.1
86.1
83.9
82.5
84.0


Renfrewshire
82.1
82.6
80.0
82.7
74.5
77.4


Scottish Borders
88.9
89.4
88.9
88.1
86.6
87.0


Shetland Islands
85.0
85.7
86.4
86.4
85.7
85.0


South Ayrshire
87.9
89.0
89.3
88.4
89.7
89.1


South Lanarkshire
84.0
84.2
82.4
79.0
78.8
76.5


Stirling
86.0
87.6
81.0
81.2
81.4
82.3


West Dunbartonshire
89.6
90.0
82.1
80.5
81.1
77.5


West Lothian
81.4
81.4
79.3
76.3
76.8
73.2


Scotland
86.7
85.8
85.9
85.5
85.2
84.8

Blind and Partially Sighted People

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive its target is for reducing the 83% of blind and partially-sighted people of working age who remain out of work.

Allan Wilson: The Scottish Executive has not set such a target. Our Closing the Opportunity Gap targets, announced in December 2004, involve reducing the number of workless people dependent on Department of Work and Pensions benefits, including benefits claimed by people with seeing difficulties.

Census

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will replace the regulations which close decennial census records for 100 years with regulations that close such records for 80 years.

Tavish Scott: The Executive has no plans to reduce from 100 years the exemption in the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 applying to access to individuals’ census records. The Executive's view is that the recent act reflects the most satisfactory balance between the undertakings given to people responding to successive censuses, that their individual details would remain confidential, and the importance to family historians of access to the individual census records.

Central Heating Programme

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what evidence there is that the resources allocated through the central heating scheme are not being accessed by the most fuel-poor and whether a proportion of current funding could be ring-fenced to a more flexible discretionary scheme through which the most fuel-poor could be assisted quickly.

Johann Lamont: Research on the first year of the central heating programme suggested that over 60% of participants were fuel poor before entering the programme, and that nearly 90% of those participants were lifted out of fuel poverty by the programme. However, fuel poverty is not a criterion for the current programme, and it would be difficult to change the scheme in its final year.

  We are currently considering options for the future programme once the current programme ends in March 2006, and we will consult on proposals soon.

Child Care

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether a risk-based approach to inspection of child care and day-care provision, which would involve more frequent inspections for poorer-performing providers and longer intervals between inspections for better performers, would help ensure resources are targeted at high-risk providers while minimising the burden of inspections on others.

Rhona Brankin: The Care Commission is required under the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 to inspect each care service at least once a year or at least twice a year where the service includes the provision of overnight accommodation.

  Within that legislative framework the Care Commission has developed an approach to regulation that takes account of risk. This includes:

  The development of a pre-inspection return which incorporates a self-evaluation for providers.

  A phasing of consideration of a set of National Care Standards (for example the care standards for care homes for older people) over three to five years, rather than assessing compliance with all aspects of the standards every year.

  A risk-based approach based on pre-inspection returns, previous inspections and other criteria. Based on that, providers will receive either a standard inspection, which will include assessment against all of the legal requirements and against the core standards identified for any inspection year; or a concise inspection, which will focus on the legal requirements of the act and associated regulations.

  In relation to day-care services for children, the joint inspection arrangements with HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) have been further refined so that only one officer (either Care Commission or HMIE) inspects small services (i.e. services providing 10 or fewer places to children at any one time).

Communities

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will mark LGBT History Month.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive is marking LGBT history month in a number of ways.

  I will be hosting a reception for LGBT communities later in the month. This will be an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the contribution that LGBT people have made to Scottish society.

  Communities Scotland have announced funding of £9,995 for the charity group "OurStory Scotland" to support a project researching the history of Scotland’s LGBT communities.

  And in addition, as an employer, the Scottish Executive, in conjunction with its LGBT staff network and the "Remember When" project, will mark LGBT History Month with a variety of events, including a lunchtime seminar for Executive staff. This will focus on the contribution of LGBT staff members to the Executive and the wider civil service.

Dentistry

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive where NHS dental examinations are available within a 50-mile radius of Aberlour.

Rhona Brankin: This information is not held centrally. NHS Grampian and NHS Highland will hold information on those dentists who have joined their respective dental lists.

Disability Discrimination Act 1995

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional resources it plans to allocate to local authorities and public bodies to allow them to conform to requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, broken down by local authority and organisation.

Malcolm Chisholm: We take our responsibilities under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) as an employer and service provider very seriously. We expect all employers and service providers in Scotland, including local authorities and public bodies, to do the same.

  The main provisions and timetable of the DDA have been in place for a number of years. It is for employers and service providers to decide what they need to do to comply with the legislation and allocate the necessary resources.

Disaster Relief

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much additional money has been allocated to non-governmental organisations to support their work following the tsunami.

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what resources it has allocated to public services, including the NHS, to enable them to offer practical assistance in terms of expertise, personnel, equipment and goods to the areas affected by the tsunami.

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it has taken to organise and support assistance from public services to the areas affected by the tsunami.

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements have been made to ensure that the assistance offered by government and public organisations is deployed to areas affected by the tsunami in the shortest time possible and what measures it will take to ensure that all pledges are fulfilled.

Patricia Ferguson: The Scottish Executive has not allocated funds to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to support their work following the tsunami but has taken other actions to respond swiftly and appropriately.

  We met NGOs in the days after the disaster to ask how we could assist their efforts to support the emergency relief work. At their request, we immediately seconded 11 Scottish Executive staff to meet an urgent need for administrative assistance at the British Red Cross, SCIAF and Mercy Corp. We also co-ordinated advertisements for the Scottish Emergency Appeal, which appeared in a range of Scottish papers. The Deputy Chief Medical Officer’s team has co-ordinated Scottish offers of specialist medical help to the World Health Organisation, including the option to second Scottish Executive specialist medical personnel. Ten Scottish police officers have been deployed in support of the Metropolitan Police casualty bureau.

  The First Minister indicated to the Parliament on 12 January that the Scottish Executive is committed to assisting the longer term reconstruction effort, as the assessment of need in the affected region becomes clearer. The Scottish Executive has maintained a dialogue with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for International Development and public services in Scotland to facilitate assistance from public services to the areas affected by the tsunami. We are in discussion with Scottish based international aid agencies and public service organisations about how this can be taken forward.

Education

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much additional funding has been allocated for school sport in West Dunbartonshire and what it has been spent on in each year since 1999.

Patricia Ferguson: I refer the member to the answer to question S1W-33868, on 17 February 2003. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament/webapp/wa.search .

  In 2002-03, West Dunbartonshire also benefited through the Sports Facilities programme from an award of £177,326 for a fitness suite at St Columba’s High school in Clydebank. In 2003-04, West Dunbartonshire received £44,502 through the School Sport Co-ordinator programme and in 2004-05, £47,120 and £233,340 through the TOP programme and Active Schools respectively.

  In addition to the funding from sportscotland, West Dunbartonshire has been allocated almost £2 million through the New Opportunities for PE and Sport in Schools (NOPES) programme.

Electoral Register

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why the electoral register produced by Grampian Joint Valuation Board restricts published electors’ surnames and forenames to 25 characters each and whether such a restriction applies to other electoral registers.

Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive has no function in relation to electoral registration. The Scotland Office have advised that they are not aware of any issues relating to the length of voters’ names in the register and that there appears to be no legislation restricting the length of individual entries.

Energy

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any representations to energy suppliers regarding the rise in the number of disconnections due to debt and, if so, whether these have led to any reduction in disconnections.

Malcolm Chisholm: I recently met with representatives from energy supply companies and discussed, among other things, levels of disconnections of power supplies. My predecessor Margaret Curran had similar meetings early in 2004.

  Disconnections for debt in Scotland have fallen sharply over the last year. In 2003, the total number was 756: for the first three quarters of 2004, the most recent period for which figures are currently available, it was 104.

First Minister

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what costs have been incurred by the First Minister in respect of (a) accommodation, (b) travel, (c) transport, (d) stationery and (e) hospitality in each year since 1999.

Mr Tom McCabe: With the exception of hospitality, it is not possible to separate in the Scottish Executive’s accounting system all of the First Minister’s costs from the First Minister’s staff costs but the First Minister’s Office costs as a whole are detailed in the answer to question S2W-13017, answered on 31 January 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament/webapp/wa.search . It will, however, take some time to collate the information on hospitality and I shall write to the Member when it is available.

Fisheries

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in identifying the location of existing fish farms and identifying those farms that are inappropriately sited, as recommended by the Transport and the Environment Committee in its 5th Report 2002: Report on Phase 1 of the Inquiry into Aquaculture .

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether negotiations have taken place with owners of inappropriately sited fish farms for their removal to more appropriate sites, as recommended by the Transport and the Environment Committee in its 5th Report 2002: Report on Phase 1 of the Inquiry into Aquaculture .

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether discussions have taken place with leading aquaculture companies regarding mechanisms that will enable inappropriately sited fish farms to be phased out or relocated to more appropriate sites.

Lewis Macdonald: The Executive has established the Location/Relocation Working Group to take forward a number of initiatives associated with the location and relocation of fish farms, an issue which has been identified as a priority for action in the Strategic Framework for Scottish Aquaculture. A sub-group has brought wildfish interests and fish farmers together at the local level to identify fish farms that could be relocated. A pilot exercise is currently underway to establish the best approach to facilitate relocation. Further details, including minutes of meetings can be found on the Scottish Executive website at http://194.247.95.102/about/ERADFF/FFAME/00018364/page1323922298.aspx .

Health

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-13047 by Rhona Brankin on 18 January 2005, how much of the £28.889 million from the Health Improvement Fund retained by the Executive as at 1 October 2001 was allocated to each NHS board and how much was retained centrally.

Rhona Brankin: The information requested is not available at this time. However, I shall write to the member as soon as the information has been collated and a copy of my letter shall be placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-12905 by Mr Andy Kerr on 19 January 2005, whether it is satisfied that adequate clinical trials and research have been carried out to ensure that prescribing Ritalin to children under 16 is safe.

Mr Andy Kerr: Ritalin (methylphenidate hydrochloride) is authorised for use in children aged six years and over for the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

  In the UK, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for the assessment of all requests for authorisation to market drugs. Before a new marketing authorisation, or a variation to an existing authorisation can be granted, data from pre-clinical and clinical trials must be submitted to the MHRA by the applicant.

  The agency has advised that Ritalin was assessed for quality, safety and efficacy at the time of authorisation. The product information for Ritalin contains comprehensive information on the recognised side-effects of treatment.

  As with all medicines, the safety of Ritalin is continually monitored by the MHRA and the expert independent advisory body the Committee on Safety of Medicines.

  More information about the MHRA and the medicines licensing process can be found on: www.mhra.gov.uk.

  The Chief Scientist Office (CSO), within the Scottish Executive Health Department, has responsibility for funding and supporting research into health and healthcare needs in Scotland. The CSO is currently funding research into treatment with methylphenidate in boys with ADHD. The research will investigate whether chronic treatment with methylphenidate leads to tolerance or sensitisation, two processes associated with the development of substance misuse problems.

  The National Research Register (NRR), a UK-wide research database, records that there are 11 on-going research projects in the UK on ADHD. Details of these projects are available from the NRR, a copy of which is in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 17404).

Housing

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the report of the audit it commissioned into Supporting People funding.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Price Waterhouse Coopers report on the analysis of funding arrangements for Supporting People is available on the Supporting People website at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/housing/supportingpeople/new.asp .

Housing

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the report of the audit it commissioned into Supporting People funding will be available under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Price Waterhouse Coopers report on the analysis of funding arrangements for Supporting People is available under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and can be found on the Supporting People website at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/housing/supportingpeople/new.asp .

Housing

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the report of the audit it commissioned into Supporting People funding informed its recent reallocation of the fund and, if so, in what way.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Price Waterhouse Coopers report identified wide variations across the country on unit costs and service provision. It confirmed the view emerging from reviews in England that significant efficiency savings were possible, particularly as unit costs are higher in Scotland. The wide variations in per capita funding across Scotland emerging in the report also reinforced the need to move towards a fairer distribution of resources across Scotland. Funding is now redistributed on a more objective basis using a new formula.

Housing

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for adapting houses to increase the existing level of barrier-free housing stock from 1%.

Malcolm Chisholm: Barrier-free housing and surrounding environment is a key element of the Executive’s social inclusion agenda. We will seek to ensure that the existing level of barrier-free housing is increased by requiring local authorities to take full account of the needs of vulnerable people, including disabled and older people, within their Local Housing Strategies (LHS).

  Funding to increase barrier-free housing is available from the Scottish Executive’s Housing Investment Programme, which is administered by Communities Scotland. In 2004-05, this programme amounts to £284 million.

Justice

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will respond to the report published in October 2004 by the Working Group on Hate Crime.

Malcolm Chisholm: Scottish ministers are considering the detailed recommendations of the Working Group on Hate Crime and expect to respond to it in due course.

Justice

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what rules it has regarding the ownership of a financial interest in private prisons by judges, sheriffs and stipendiary magistrates and how the application of such rules is monitored.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive does not make rules about the conduct of the independent judiciary. Members of the judiciary are expected to conduct personal business in a way which avoids the risk of any compromise to their independence when handling cases which come before them.

Mental Health

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people with severe and enduring mental health problems remained out of sustained employment in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002, (e) 2003 and (f) 2004.

Rhona Brankin: The Department for Work and Pensions provide statistics on claimants of Incapacity Benefit (IB) and Severe Disablement Allowance (SDA). These show that the number of such claimants (for a period of over 13 weeks) as a result of a "mental or behavioural disorder" were:

  

1999
98,000


2000
105,000


2001
110,600


2002
117,900


2003
121,000


2004
124,500



  It should be noted that policy on employment and job search is a matter reserved to the UK government.

NHS 24

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what complaints have been received regarding the standard of service cover and delivery since the introduction of NHS 24 in the Highlands.

Mr Andy Kerr: Between 1 May 2003 and 25 January 2005, NHS 24 dealt with over 47,500 calls from the Highland area and received 25 formal complaints. In the same time span, the Scottish Executive received nine complaint about specific cases. On 1 December 2004, NHS 24 was rolled out to all of the Highlands with patients contacting NHS 24 to access GP services out of hours. Between 1 December 2004 and 25 January 2005, there were around 7,900 contacts with NHS 24 and the Highland Out-of-Hours service. In the same time span, four complaints were received by NHS Highland which were specifically about NHS 24.

  Both NHS 24 and NHS Highland are working together to investigate these complaints and will take forward any learning points which will help to maintain an efficient and effective services to patients in the Highlands.

NHS Funding

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the actual budget deficit for NHS Greater Glasgow was for 2003-04 and what the board’s estimated budget deficit is for 2004-05.

Mr Andy Kerr: NHS Greater Glasgow recorded a surplus of £5 million in financial year 2003-04 and is currently forecasting a deficit of £4.6 million for 2004-05. The Executive, however, would expect the board to achieve financial balance by the year-end.

NHS Waiting Times

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-4807 by Malcolm Chisholm on 19 January 2004, what the difference in median wait and mean wait was for the quarter ended (a) 31 December 2003, (b) 31 March 2004, (c) 30 June 2004 and (d) 30 September 2004.

Mr Andy Kerr: The differences between the median wait and mean wait for in-patient/day case treatment and new out-patient appointments for the quarters ending: 31 December 2003, 31 March 2004, 30 June 2004 and 30 September 2004 were as follows:

  Difference in Median and Mean Wait (Days)

  

 
In-Patient/Day Case Waiting Time
First Out-patient Appointment Waiting Time


Quarter Ended
Median
Mean
Difference
Median
Mean
Difference


31-Dec-03
40
83.2
-43.2
53
87.8
-34.8


31-Mar-04
43
83.0
-40.0
54
89.5
-35.5


30-Jun-04P
41
78.5
-37.5
51
85.6
-34.6


30-Sep-04P
43
81.3
-38.3
55
89.8
-34.8



  PProvisional.

  Sources: ISD, SMR00 & SMR01.

  The distributions of both out-patients and in-patients/day cases and outpatients are very skewed making the median the more appropriate measure. The mean is highly sensitive to the small number of unusually high values in the long tail of the distribution. A significant number of those waiting for a long time will have been delayed due to failing to attend, cancelling an offer of an appointment or having medical/social constraints that prevent admission for treatment.

  Neither the mean nor the median are targets for NHSScotland and they are only summary measures for patients awaiting in-patient/day case hospital care where reducing maximum waiting times is the Scottish Executive’s priority. They take no account of the annual 465,000 emergency admissions, where patients are admitted immediately and they take no account of the annual 26.5 million face-to-face contacts with the primary care team.

NHS Waiting Times

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the median number of days wait was for in-patient treatment in the NHS Greater Glasgow area in 2004.

Mr Andy Kerr: The median waiting time for in-patient and day case treatment in NHS Greater Glasgow during the year ending 30 September 2004 was 34 days.

  NHS Greater Glasgow's waiting list shows that on 30 September 2004, 1,707 patients with a guarantee had waited more than six months for in-patient and day case treatment, a reduction of 2,414 (59%) on the previous year.

Non-Domestic Rates

Alasdair Morgan (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-12963 by Mr Tom McCabe on 24 December 2004, what the percentage increase will be from 2004-05 to 2005-06 in non-domestic rates paid by a business whose rateable value increases by the Scottish average and which does not make an appeal against any revised valuation or does not make such an appeal successfully.

Mr Tom McCabe: The percentage increase in rates paid by a hypothetical tenant occupying a property whose rateable value has risen by the "Scottish average" at the 2005 Revaluation will be 7.0%. This takes no account of the impact of the small business rate relief scheme which will vary according to the rateable value of the subject occupied.

Poverty

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the objectives in its Financial Inclusion Action Plan of January 2005, how many people were designated as being in "vulnerable and disadvantaged groups" and living in Scotland in (a) 2000, (b) 2001, (c) 2002, (d) 2003 and (e) 2004, broken down by local authority area.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Financial Inclusion Action Plan refers to the Executive’s six closing the opportunity gap (CTOG) objectives, announced on 12 July 2004. One of these is: to increase the chances of sustained employment for vulnerable and disadvantaged groups.

  The CTOG objectives are underpinned by targets identifying key aspects of poverty and deprivation on which progress is required. Details are available on the Executive’s CTOG website:  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/topics/people/social-inclusion/17415/opportunity.

  Specific CTOG targets refer to workless people dependent on Department of Work and Pension benefits in key areas, 16 to 19-year-olds not in education, training or employment, employees of public sector and large employers on low wages, young people leaving care and residents of the most deprived neighbourhoods. The definition of "vulnerable and disadvantaged groups" is a wide one, however, and includes people with a wider range of characteristics such as disability or caring responsibilities. Some people have multiple such disadvantages. It is not possible, therefore, to give overall numbers, nor to break these down by year or local authority area.

Poverty

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the objectives in its Financial Inclusion Action Plan of January 2005, how many people living in "vulnerable and disadvantaged groups" were in sustained employment in (a) 2000, (b) 2001, (c) 2002, (d) 2003 and (e) 2004.

Malcolm Chisholm: Figures for all people in Scotland in employment in the years concerned are as follows. It is not possible, however, to define how many of these are in vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, nor how many are in sustained employment.

  

Levels*
Thousands


Year
Quarter
Employment


2000
Sep-Nov
2,360


2001
Sep-Nov
2,351


2002
Sep-Nov
2,370


2003
Sep-Nov
2,402


2004
Sep-Nov
2,446



  Note: *Levels are for those 16+.

  Source: Labour Force Survey.

Poverty

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the objectives in its Financial Inclusion Action Plan of January 2005, what target it has for people living in "vulnerable and disadvantaged groups" working in sustained employment.

Malcolm Chisholm: There is information on the Executive’s closing the opportunity gap website, http://www.scotland.gov.uk/topics/people/social-inclusion/17415/opportunity about targets relating to sustained employment for workless people dependent on Department of Work and Pensions benefits in key areas, 16 to 19-year-olds not in education, training or employment, employees of public sector and large employers on low wages, young people leaving care and residents of the most deprived neighbourhoods.

Prison Service

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will direct the Scottish Prison Service to meet its promise and obligations to the people of Upperton village in respect of contributing towards the funding for upgrading roads and lighting.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) is not responsible for the roads and lighting at Upperton village.

  When the former Longriggend Remand Unit was sold in October 2003 the purchaser assumed shared responsibility, together with the individual owners of the residential properties, for the repair and maintenance of the roads and lighting system.

  Although the SPS had no statutory or other obligation to do so, it had carried out routine repairs and maintenance to the street lighting system within the village on a goodwill basis. On being advised, shortly before selling the land, that a number of the lights were not working, SPS agreed to repair them as its final contribution prior to the transfer of obligations to the new owner. This work was completed as promised.

Prison Service

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Prison Service has been asked to make efficiency savings and, if so, what level of savings has been requested and over what period of time.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The SPS needs to become more competitive, to use taxpayers money to achieve better value for money and to make a contribution to building a fit for purpose prison estate. This will also improve long-term job security of SPS staff. The SPS has therefore initiated a 5% efficiency target across the service for 2004-05 and 2005-06.

Public Bodies

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all board members of non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) and Executive agencies who have registered membership of the Labour or Liberal Democrat party in Scotland, broken down by NDPB and agency in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002, (e) 2003 and (f) 2004 to date.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Executive publishes details of the declared political activity of all current regulated ministerial appointments on its public appointments website at: www.scotland.gov.uk/government/publicbodies .

  This is a "real time" website that is updated by the Executive on an on-going basis. At 31 December 2004, 95 (13.8%) of the 686 current appointees are shown to have declared that they had been politically active on behalf of the Labour party and 24 (3.5%) on behalf of the Liberal Democrat party in the five years preceding their appointments.

  The information in relation to regulated NDPBs is not available in the form requested by the member. The political activity information on regulated NDPB board members that is required to be collected and collated by the Executive on behalf of the Commissioner for Public Appointments is broken down by NDPB category only.

  Information about the political membership of the board members of Executive Agencies is not held by the Executive as these appointments are not regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland’s Code of Practice.

  I refer the member to the answers to questions S1W-20118, S1W-24411 and S1W-25468 (answered on 26 March 2002, 17 April 2002 and 30 April 2002 respectively) which explain why annual data from 1999 to March 2001 is not available.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament/webapp/wa.search.

  The number of regulated NDPB board members who have declared political activity on behalf of the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties from 1 April 2001 is as follows:

  

Period
Appointments made in Period (Including Reappointments)
No. of Appointees Declaring Political Activity on Behalf of the Labour party
No. of Appointees Declaring Political Activity on Behalf of the Lib Dem Party


1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002
273
8 Executive NDPBs
6 Advisory NDPBs
29 NHS Bodies
(16% of all new appointments)
1 Executive NDPB
1 Advisory NDPB
5 NHS Bodies
(3% of all new appointments)


1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003
253
22 Executive NDPBs
8 NHS Bodies
(12% of all new appointments)
10 Executive NDPBs
(4% of all new appointments)


1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004
220
8 Executive NDPBs
6 Advisory NDPBs
5 NHS Bodies
1 Public Corporation
(9% of all new appointments)
1 Advisory NDPB
1 NHS Body
(0.9% of all new appointments)



  Details of the political activity of all regulated NDPB appointments made in the period 1 April 2004 to 31 March 2005 will be published in the new Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland’s Annual Report.

Public Bodies

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the percentage was of (a) women and (b) men employed at board level in each non-departmental public body in (i) 1999, (ii) 2000, (iii) 2001, (iv) 2002, (v) 2003 and (iv) 2004.

Mr Tom McCabe: Information in relation to the gender of public appointees is not available in the form requested. However, a breakdown by gender of people appointed by Ministers to regulated public bodies during each financial year has been published in the UK Commissioner for Public Appointments’ Annual Report since the year 1999-2000. These reports can be accessed at www.ocpa.gov.uk and the relevant Scottish figures are set out in the following table.

  

Year
Percentage and Number of Male Appointees
Percentage and Number of Female Appointees


1999-2000
 64% (147)
36% (82)


2000-01
 68% (112)
32% (52)


2001-02
 67% (184)
33% (89)


2002-03
 65% (165)
35% (88)


2003-04
 63% (138)
37% (82)



  The Executive now also publishes details of the gender breakdown of all current regulated ministerial appointments on its public appointments website: www.scotland.gov.uk/government/publicbodies.

  This information is updated on a monthly basis. As at 31 December 2004, 65% (513) of all regulated public body board members were men and 35% (276) were women.

Renewable Energy

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish national strategic guidance on the location of wind farms and provide a summary of existing guidance on this matter.

Mr Jim Wallace: National Planning Policy Guideline 6 – Renewable Energy Developments , was published in November 2000, and is available at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library3/planning/nppg/nppg6.pdf .

  This guidance sets out important considerations to be taken into account before a proposal is considered acceptable, for example protecting the built and natural heritage and minimising negative impacts on local communities.

  An Environmental Advisory Forum on Renewable Energy has been established to consider how best to deliver the Executive’s renewable energy targets in an environmentally acceptable way. The need for further strategic guidance will be one of the issues that the forum will consider.

Renewable Energy

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive who the members are of the Forum for Renewable Energy Development in Scotland and what expertise each member has.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Forum for Renewable Energy Development in Scotland (FREDS) is a high level strategic group and its membership has been drawn to reflect this. Although members have been appointed on an individual basis, they are expected to draw on the expertise and resources of their constituent organisations to help deliver the objectives of the forum. The members of the forum are:

  Jim Wallace, Deputy First Minister, Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning (Chair)

  Ian Marchant, Chief Executive, Scottish and Southern Energy

  Ian Russell, Chief Executive, Scottish Power

  Graham McKee, Senior Director of Operations, Scottish Enterprise

  Sandy Cumming, Chief Executive, Highlands and Islands Enterprise

  Paul Blakeley, Vice President of Talisman Energy (UK) Ltd

  Rob Forrest, Chief Executive, Green Power

  Dr Richard Yemm, Managing Director, Ocean Power Delivery

  Ian Bryden, Associate Dean of Faculty of Design and Technology, Robert Gordon University

  Stephen Boyd, Scottish Trades Union Congress

  Jeremy Sainsbury, Natural Power Consultants

  Donald Workman, Director of Corporate and Commercial Banking, Royal Bank of Scotland

  Malcolm Twist, Managing Director, Strachan and Henshaw (part of the Weir Group plc)

  Tony Amor, Chief Executive, ITI Energy

  Archie Campbell, COSLA.

Scottish Executive Legislation

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of any legislation or other action it has abandoned as a result of a consultation.

Ms Margaret Curran: The information sought is not held centrally. All departments are encouraged to make public consultation an integral part of the policy formulation process. The Executive considers in detail all responses provided to consultation documents and takes these into account when finalising its legislative proposals.

Sustainable Development

Mr Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications for funding under the Scottish Land Fund are awaiting consideration and what the value is of such applications.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Big Lottery Fund Scottish Land Fund is a reserved matter for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. Information can be sought from Mr Dharmendra Kanani, Director Scotland of the Big Lottery Fund.

Transport

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what level of funding was allocated to the (a) Clean-Up, (b) Powershift, (c) Autogas and (d) Autogas+ programme in each of the last three years; how many vehicles benefited from each programme in each year, giving the average cost per vehicle, and how many applications for funding under each such programme were unsuccessful.

Mr Jim Wallace: The information requested is given in the following tables:

  Clean Up Programme

  

 
Funding (£)
Number of Vehicles
Cost Per Vehicle (£)
Rejected Applications


1 Apr 02 to 30 Apr 03
90,362 
34
2,658
84


1 Apr 03 to 30 Apr 04
451,546 
194
2,328
86


1 Apr 04 to 31 Dec 04
678,119 
215
3,154
8



  Powershift

  

 
Funding (£)
Number of Vehicles
Cost Per Vehicle (£)
Rejected Applications


1 Apr 02 To 30 Apr 03
176,863
108
1,638
39


1 Apr 03 To 30 Apr 04
704,317
358
1,967
34


1 Apr 04 To 31 Dec 04
197,184
178
1,108
21



  Autogas+

  

 
Funding (£)
Number of Vehicles
Cost Per Vehicle (£)*
Rejected Applications


1 Apr 02 to 30 Apr 03
 111,200 
139
800
89


1 Apr 03 to 30 Apr 04
 207,200 
259
800
102


1 Apr 04 to 31 Dec 04
 225,600 
282
800
8



  Notes:

  *The Autogas+ programme provides a grant of £800 towards the conversion of petrol vehicles (cars and light vans) under six years to Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).

  Financial information is gathered by fiscal year rather than calendar year.

  There is no Scottish Executive scheme called "Autogas".

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will ensure that clear advice is provided on the handling of parliamentary questions in the context of developing its guidance on the implementation of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Robert Brown (Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body): Parliamentary questions are not requests for information within the meaning of the act and the handling of such questions is, consequently, not affected by it.